Is sales staff labor included in the cost of goods in business accounting?

In business accounting, the cost of goods sold (COGS) typically includes direct costs associated with the production of goods that a company sells. This generally encompasses materials, direct labor directly tied to the manufacturing, and production overhead. However, sales staff labor is not classified as a direct cost of goods sold because their roles are associated with selling, rather than producing, the products.

The labor costs related to sales personnel are usually categorized as selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses. These expenses are separate from COGS, as they do not directly contribute to the creation of the products sold. Thus, the correct understanding is that sales staff labor is not included in the cost of goods in business accounting, which aligns with the assertion that the answer is false.